Twilight is a perfectly watchable neo-noir crime drama thanks in large part to a great cast with Newman, Sarandon and Hackman giving great performances, however the script isn’t the best and really not much memorable with the direction either.
Overall, I can’t say it enough that the original Scream is right up there with Halloween and Friday the 13th with an amazing cast ensemble and a production that overcame the odds and made an iconic movie.
This is another great release from Shout Factory and although some of the films are far from perfect and even taking into consideration that I’m generally not always the biggest fan of the supernatural-horror genre, this is still worth picking up for any completists out there.
There really is no reason to bother with The Omen (2006) as it offers nothing new to the 1976 version and while I wasn’t over the moon with that movie, it is still well worth watching as it is the original and did at least feature some quality performances.
The Jack Ryan Collection is a solid release from Paramount for what I consider a nice franchise, however there never was one that stoodout, each being fine filmmaking and storytelling and nice performances from the respective actors.
Chuck is a run-of-the-mill boxing drama that features some solid performances headlined by Liev Schreiber, Elisabeth Moss and Jim Gaffigan, though in Schreiber’s case, it’s amazing the work he was able to do with the amount of make-up caked on his face…
The 5th Wave is a movie that maybe five years ago I would’ve been OK with but with so many YA adaptations, it would seem Hollywood will make just about anything and while I don’t think this is the weakest of the bunch, hard to be worse than the Twilight Saga, it’s really not a very good movie.
Spotlight might not be at the top of my best of 2015 list but it’s still a well made film all around from the efficient direction, tight writing and brilliant performances (save for Ruffalo in the one scene) so I have no qualms with its recent win for Best Picture and say it’s well worth purchase.
Pawn Sacrifice isn’t one of Zwick’s best movies, which for me is still The Last Samurai, but it’s still an adequate drama with strong performances by Tobey Maguire and Michael Stuhlbarg, the latter of whom deserves some award recognition. The Blu-ray release offers good video and audio transfers but falls far short in the bonus material department.
I hated Movie 43. I didn’t find the jokes particularly funny – and mind you, I don’t mind crude/rude humor – nor was it very controversial. Instead this looked more like a college film project with a higher budget and one which was made for insiders rather than a larger audience.
Ransom is a well made crime-thriller propelled by some great performances from Mel Gibson and Rene Russo and the story never gets old or is overly complicated and instead plays it straight as a thrilling cat-and-mouse game.
Scream 3 isn’t a terrible film and in some ways has gotten a tad better over time but the killer reveal at the end will always keep it from being on the same playing field as the first two. I will say that the film never feels stale and only gets me excited for Scream 4 and maybe some of the elements the filmmakers will hopefully rectify.
As far as sequels go – and with horror sequels specifically –, Scream 2 is a success. Yes, it utilizes much of the same formula as the original transplanting high school for college and adding some depth to those who went through those events, but the suspense aspects more so than horror or cranked up a notch.
I can’t say it enough that the original Scream is right up there with Halloween and Friday the 13th with an amazing cast ensemble and a production that overcame the odds and made an iconic movie.
Salt isn’t the best action movie out there and when it compares to the Daniel Craig Bond or Bourne movies probably a cut above Quantum of Solace but well below Bourne, I still enjoyed it for what it was and to appreciate the skill and beauty of Angelina Jolie.